Sculpture to rise from power plant ashes

Sculptor combs rubble of South Bay generator for a work of art that salutes plant’s history

Local artist Michael Leaf is creating a sculpture from part of the old South Bay Power Plant for the mayor of Chula Vista. He visited the site on Monday, March 11, to gather interesting pieces for his work.
— John Gibbins

Local artist Michael Leaf is creating a sculpture from part of the old South Bay Power Plant for the mayor of Chula Vista. He visited the site on Monday, March 11, to gather interesting pieces for his work.
— John Gibbins

The South Bay Power Plant may soon be gone from the Chula Vista bayfront, but it lives on in the memories of those who worked there, drove by it and received power from its transmission lines during its 50-year life.

And after the rubble of the 165-foot structure is cleared, parts of it will be resurrected when Chula Vista sculptor Michael Leaf is finished with them.

On Feb. 2, 2013, workers from Oakland-based Silverado Contractors performed the $40 million demolition on the South Bay Power Plant, which was decommissioned in 2010. — John Gibbins

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On Feb. 2, 2013, workers from Oakland-based Silverado Contractors performed the $40 million demolition on the South Bay Power Plant, which was decommissioned in 2010.
— John Gibbins

The feelings surrounding the demise of the bayfront fixture range from elation to heartbreak. One emotion that almost all onlookers shared at its Feb. 2 implosion, though, was respect.

“I cringe when I hear anybody refer to it as a monstrosity, because it served a purpose and was an important part of this community,” said Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox.

Leaf said he wants to preserve that part of its history for future generations.

“I feel the South Bay Power Plant was overlooked,” he said. “People called it ‘an eyesore, it’s blocking my view,’ and it’s sad in a way. I hope to do the opposite. I want to remind people of how it served the community and was a staple of South Bay.”

The 28-year-old, who has clients around the world and whose designs were featured in December at the 2012 San Diego International Auto Show, was informally commissioned by the mayor and Councilwoman Pamela Bensoussan to create a memorial to the power plant.

“I was born and raised in Chula Vista and know the power plant,” he said. “I used to think it was a boat when I was a kid. Building a project as a monument to honor that thing is so cool.

“The details have yet to be solidified — we don’t know where or when, but we do know it’s going down.”

Even though nobody is certain yet about size, timeline, dollar figures or placement, work has begun.

What is certain: Leaf plans to make the memorial out of the plant’s twisted remains. The port and former operator Dynegy granted Leaf permission to browse the demolition site, and he has taken several trips since it was reduced to a pile of metal on Feb. 2 to select the pieces he wants to use for the project.

Bensoussan, who owns an art appraisal business and is an advocate for the arts in San Diego’s South Bay, said she equates this part of the process with Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo’s process of selecting slabs of marble for his sculptures.

“He was able to pick a chunk of marble because he was able to visualize, for example, his ‘David’ statue in a chunk of raw marble,” she said. “I kind of envisioned Michael Leaf going into the site of the implosion and being inspired by chunks of metal.”

Inspired he was.

So far Leaf has collected more than 7,000 pounds worth of scraps. He has boulders from the power plant’s foundation, the original plaque commemorating its commissioning, a segment of turbine and pieces of blown-apart turbine blade stashed away. He also has a light fixture.

He envisions the plaque anchoring the sculpture, which he said will be large — between 16 and 18 feet tall. He hopes to create a statue that uses solar energy to power the light, as an active testament to the plant’s years of service powering homes in South Bay. He said he may also do a series of 12 smaller pieces to complement the larger sculpture.

Leaf suspects the sculpture will eventually find a home somewhere in the 550-acre master-planned community in store for Chula Vista’s bayfront, which is to include hotels, condos, retail, restaurants, parks and a resort conference center.

Bensoussan said she hopes the Port of San Diego decides to feature the finished piece on the revitalized bayfront as a homage to what used to stand there.